1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to devices for supplying multiple threads to a sewing machine to enable a user to make selections of thread choice for use in a particular sewing project. More particularly, this invention pertains to devices for maintaining the multiple threads in an orderly array, with ends of the threads collectively displayed at a convenient access location near the user.
2. Prior Art
Commercial sewing operations (including embroidery, monogramming, applique) often involve the use of multiple operating needles which are collectively sewing threads of various colors and styles onto a work piece. Various stages of sewing will require changing threads to facilitate a new pattern or new work piece. Typical methods and machines require the user to replace one or more threads with threads of different colors. Often this procedure requires the user to leave his seat to retrieve the new threads from their spools and place them in thread guides for proper alignment for feeding into the sewing machine. Accordingly, changes in work piece or pattern generally result in down time that can represent a very costly interruption in production.
The need for having a plurality of spools positioned in such a way as to allow the user of the sewing machine to change threads as quickly as possible is apparent from prior art patents. For example, patents 1,822,765 and 2,625,345 disclose a plurality of thread spools positioned directly on the sewing machine itself. Each thread is displayed for the user so that he can quickly change the thread in the sewing machine. These inventions, however, are limited to the number of thread spools that can be positioned on the sewing machine by the size of the sewing machine. Secondly, all of the thread spools correspond to a particular needle and the use of multiple needles with these inventions is not likely under the definitions of each patent.
Another problem that has existed with the use of multiple thread spools is that the different threads have a tendency to entangle with each other. One of many ideas to avoid this problem has been the use of guide tubes to separate the various threads. For example, patents 3875883, 4078505, and 4393793 disclose the use of these guide tubes being used in cooperation with a plurality of thread spools. The guide tubes lead each thread into a corresponding needle, thereby avoiding entanglement. These inventions, however, are limited to industrial applications because they all are to be used in cooperation with a tufting machine. Each thread has a corresponding needle within the tufting machine and there is no suggestion of the idea of each thread being displayed to the user.
The use of multiple spools of thread has been commonly practiced in the sewing industry by supporting an array of spools supported on a platform. The selection of different threads, however, has typically involved the changing of the spools, rather than the use of a large array of spools available for ready access. Although such an array has been provided, devices for maintaining the ends of the unused threads readily available for interchange have been limited.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,497,359 discloses a device that displays multiple threads to a user by using a rack system that holds a multiple number of thread spools. This rack is then fastened to a sewing table and each individual thread is loosely threaded through an eye within a closed hook suspended immediately above the spool. Although this invention displays thread to the user, there exists a problem with maintaining the threads in these hooks. The thread can easily fall back through the hook and become entangled with other threads because there is no fastening device that grasps the end of the thread. Secondly, the rack is not mobile because it is fastened onto the sewing table. Lastly, the number of thread spools is inhibited by the size of the rack. Although it may be possible to make a larger rack, positioning many spools in close proximity makes the adjacent threads vulnerable to inadvertent contact by the users hand, dislodging the threads from their suspended hooks.